A Case of Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma in the Nasal Cavities

Abstract

The patient was a 58-year-old male who had undergone right nephrectomy one and a half years previously for right renal cell cancer was examined for repeated epistaxis from the right nasal cavity. Using a nasoscope, a tumor was noted in the right middle nasal tubinate. Histopathological study revealed metastatic renal cell carcinoma. The tumor was resected endoscopically and epistaxis did not recur in the right nostril but about one year after the initial surgery, epistaxis occurred in the left nasal cavity. A second tumor was found in the left middle nasal meatus and since the general condition of the patient was too poor for a radical operation, radiotherapy was performed. Although epistaxis stopped after radiotherapy was started, the patient died of the disease with respiratory failure two months later.
In this report, we also discuss the appropriate therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma in the nasal cavity from the standpoint of the patient's quality of life.